


(you don't have to) Tell Me What's Inside of Your Head

by punk_rock_yuppie



Category: Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Powers, Empath!Steven, First Kiss, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Angst, Pining, Podfic Welcome, Super Best Friends Stadam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-15 23:37:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15424149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie
Summary: Steven just feelsso much. It's a problem, right up until it's not.





	(you don't have to) Tell Me What's Inside of Your Head

**Author's Note:**

> so when i was writing [my magical creature au](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15310845), the idea of empath!steven dawned on me. much like the magical creature au, i'm just playing fast and loose with any lore or whatever, and basically doing whatever i want with the concept of empaths. this was a lotta fun to write!
> 
> big thanks to hannah for beta'ing, as always. 
> 
> enjoy!

 Steven keeps it quiet out of necessity.

He loves his gift, really. But he doesn’t tell people about it, because it _always_ complicates things.

Some people trust him less, as though his powers are invasive—which they can be, but Steven would never do that. The thought of using his powers that way makes him feel sick. Other people expect him to do all the work in a relationship, romantic or otherwise, simply because he can pick up on feelings, so isn’t it _easy_ for him? (It’s not.) People make it into guessing games, or try to use it to their advantage, or a variety of other things that just make Steven’s life _harder_.

So Steven doesn’t tell people he’s an empath. It’s easier that way.

Except for when it’s not.

 

 

The irritation rolling off Andrew is distracting, made worse because Steven knows it’s directed at him. He’d picked up on it first thing this morning, but it was more general then. It was a wrong-side-of-the-bed sort of irritation, nonspecific but all-consuming. Coffee had helped, but only just. By the time the three of them ended up crammed in the car for today’s Worth It trip, everything had gone downhill.

Steven’s natural instinct is to make light of anything and everything, when it feels appropriate. Because he refuses to touch other people’s emotions unless given explicit permission, he tries to lift moods the old-fashioned way: humor and good cheer. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s only with Andrew that it ever seems to make things _worse_. Hence, Andrew’s ire directed at him and piling up in the close quarters of the car.

Unable to help without his powers, the urge to reach out and soothe the rough edges of Andrew’s attitude is stifling. Steven squirms in his seat awkwardly.

His least favorite downside of his gift is that undeniable urge to fix things, to make people feel better—and when he can’t, he _hurts_. It’s like an ache deep in his chest. His fingers twitch and he can’t stay still as though he’s consumed by the desperation to fix things.

“Steven, you missed the exit,” Adam reminds him quietly from the backseat.

Steven swears softly under his breath before changing lanes. “Can we get off on the next one and still make our way back?”

A beat of silence, then, “yeah.” Steven meets Adam’s gaze in the rearview mirror and they share a nod. In the passenger seat, Andrew’s mood sours further. Steven sighs to himself and blinks back overwhelmed tears.

It’s gonna be a long day.

 

Food helps, of course. By the time they’re rattling off their Worth It winners, Andrew is grinning and goofing around a bit. His mood is lighter and happier, and it’s delightful to see. But Steven’s heart still hurts, and his head still pounds with the need to _fix fix fix_. Over the years, he’s gotten mostly used to the feeling. But the rough start to the day had only amplified Steven’s emotions and made them even harder to control.

Once they cut the camera, Andrew sidles up to him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Steven pretends to be interested in his Instagram feed.

“Sorry about earlier.”

Steven stiffens and looks up. “What?”

“I know I was being a jerk. And I kinda took it out on you.” Andrew claps a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “Just one of those days, y’know?”

Steven nods. “Yeah, man. No worries.”

Andrew’s hand doesn’t move. His eyes narrow slightly and his grin fades. “You sure? You still seem upset?”

Steven shakes his head maybe a little too rapidly. “I’m sure. I’m just, uh. Tired.” And that’s reasonable. They’ve been out since eight this morning, and it’s nearly nine at night now. That’s a long time to be driving around, filming, putting on a face—not just for the camera, but for Adam and Andrew too.

“Okay,” Andrew says slowly. “If you’re sure.”

Steven can feel his control on his own emotions slipping, so he shakes off Andrew’s touch. “I’m sure,” he replies as brightly as he can. “Ready to head back?”

“Yeah,” Adam answers, appearing practically out of nowhere. Steven jumps and Andrew laughs at his quiet yelp.

 

 

It never gets any easier.

Not with people in general, but especially not with Andrew. Andrew’s sort of volatile, quick to irritation; he’s a handful to deal with for a regular person, so for Steven’s it’s an outright nightmare. He loves the guy—both in a best friend way and in a kinda-wanna-marry-him way—but _god_ , it’s exhausting.

It gets so bad that Steven ends up telling Adam, because if he doesn’t tell _someone_ he might actually go insane.

 

 

Adam blinks at him slowly. They’re down in the hotel bar sipping waters and nibbling on too-salty peanuts. Andrew is upstairs in his room sleeping off the exhaustion of the day and the lingering heat.

He’d gone to bed with barely a goodnight, and in a way, it had helped: his annoyance had grated on Steven’s already thready control, and Adam had suggested a drink down at the bar to take the edge off. It was easy to end up here at the bar, with the confession on the tip of his tongue.

Now, as they both sip at waters under the bored eye of the bartender, Steven can’t help but wonder if Adam knew he’d have something to say.

“So.” Steven sucks noisily on his water and reaches for another handful of peanuts. Adam’s hand around his wrist stops him.

“Spit it out.” And yeah, Adam can definitely tell something is up.

Steven nods. “Yeah. Uh. So, I’m an empath.” It feels good to say it aloud for the first time in years. It feels good to not have to hide it, to know—because Adam would never turn his back on him—that he’ll have someone to lean on sometimes, when he needs it.

Adam’s eyes widen almost imperceptibly before he nods. “That makes sense.”

“It does?”

Adam gives him a private smile. “You’re one of the most emotional people I’ve ever met, and I mean that in a good way. To know you’re practically overflowing with them, because you feel too much? Makes perfect sense.”

Steven gnaws on his lower lip. “Oh. Thanks.”

“It’s a compliment,” Adam assures. “It must be hell dealing with Andrew then, huh?”

Steven laughs but it comes out wetter than he really intends. “I just—I want to fix things. Especially when it’s my fault, you know? But that’s such a gross invasion of privacy, I could never do that to him.”

Adam shuffles on his stool to get it closer to Steven’s. Their knees knock companionably together. “Okay, first? Andrew is rarely actually annoyed by _you_. He’s just an asshole.” Adam reaches out and claps a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “ _You_ just happen to be in his proximity when he’s in his moods.”

Steven blinks.

“Second, if you told Andrew, you know he’d understand. And he probably wouldn’t mind you helping him, sometimes.”

Vehemently, Steven shakes his head. “He’d—he’s so private, he’d hate that. He’d hate knowing I can feel his emotions!”

Adam purses his lips. “I don’t think so.”

Steven huffs and hides his face in his hands. “I can’t tell him. I can’t.”

Adam fiddles with the straw in his water, now mostly leftover ice, as he scrutinizes Steven. “I’m sorry,” is what he settles on saying, eventually.

Steven sniffles lightly. “It’s okay. It’s nice to have someone know.”

Adam’s eyes widen slightly again. “No one else knows?”

“Not at work or whatever,” Steven shakes his head. “At this point it’s just my family, and a couple childhood friends.”

Adam nods along. “That’s for the best. Ryan would probably try and use it as some proof for Unsolved.”

That gets a surprised and delighted laugh from Steven and he slaps at Adam’s arm playfully. “God, you’re so right.”

Adam grins back at him. “Ready to go to bed?” He asks gently.

Steven’s laughter trails off, and his chest feels a little lighter. He still wants to fix things, still wants to soothe that latent, radiating discontent that he feels even from a half dozen floors apart. But he feels happier, too, and Adam bumps against him as they ride the elevator up to their floor. He feels less alone, less stranded-on-an-island and more like he’s on a paddleboat or something.

Whatever. He’s got Adam in his corner. That’s good enough, for now.

 

 

Andrew’s brow is furrowed, and Steven longs to reach out and smooth the skin with a touch. He could take away the pain from the headache and just enough of the exhaustion to get Andrew in higher spirits. From the other double bed in the room, Adam raises his eyebrows pointedly.

Steven shakes his head and gets and eyeroll in return.

“When did you two start having silent conversations?” Andrew grumbles, his eyes barely open.

Steven feels silly, now. He’s standing so close to the edge of the bed, where Andrew is slightly curled up. His hand is even a little outstretched as though reaching out of its own accord to help Andrew. Steven shoves both hands into the pockets of his jeans as nonchalantly as he can.

“Just that awesome, I guess,” Steven answers with a nervous laugh.

Andrew hums. “You and I could do that,” he says, smirking faintly. He starts to sit up but immediately grimaces in pain. He falls back slowly and brings a hand up to clutch at his forehead. “Fuck, my head.”

Steven starts toward him again but halts the movement. Adam snorts at him, and Steven glares. “Want some water and Advil?” Steven asks as he toys with a loose thread in the lining of his jeans.

Andrew’s face screws up tighter in pain. “I took some earlier, didn’t help.” The one saving grace is he doesn’t sound angry about it. Just tired, and in pain, and Steven’s chest aches. It’s like a magnet drawing him to Andrew’s hurt, like a cosmic force telling him to just _fix it_.

“Steven’s been looking up some chakra stuff,” Adam says suddenly. Steven’s head whips to face him and Andrew makes a curious noise. “Yeah, stuff like. Auras and shit.”

Andrew laughs. “Oh yeah? You gonna read my aura and get rid of my headache?”

Adam nods pointedly at Andrew. “He could try. He’s gotten pretty good at it.” Which Adam only says because Steven helped with a headache he was having the other day. It’s not exactly the most impressive use of his skills, but it certainly comes in handy.

Steven looks back at Andrew, who’s got one eye cracked open. “I could try,” Steven admits quietly, energy already pooling in his hands.

Andrew shrugs. “I’ll give anything a shot, at this point.” He groans lightly under his breath and shifts. “How do you want me?”

“Uh, can I sit behind you? It’ll be easier if your head is in my lap.”

Andrew makes an aborted attempt at a nod and shimmies around to make room for Steven on the bed. Steven clambers up against the headboard and draws Andrew’s head into his lap slowly. He sits crisscross with Andrew’s head balanced on his calves.

“It’ll take a minute, okay? But let me know when you start to feel better.”

Andrew gives him a thumbs-up, and his eyes flutter shut again.

Steven casts a half-hearted glare at Adam before bringing both palms to Andrew’s temples and shutting his own eyes.

It doesn’t take that long to latch onto Andrew’s emotions. They’re vivid and bright—angry red-purples and neon orange streaked with gray inside Steven’s mind—and Steven’s so attuned to Andrew, identifying his emotions is practically a second nature at this point. It’s as easy as breathing. Carefully, Steven focuses on channeling his energy to Andrew’s body, and in his mind, he can see tendrils of pale pinks and stark whites take over the other colors.

He doesn’t really know how accurate the colors are; he’s pretty sure it’s just something his brain came up with to help him visualize his abilities. But it works, every time, and as the last wisps of pain and exhaustion fade away, Andrew lets out a relieved sigh.

Steven opens his eyes and lets his hands go slack on either side of Andrew’s face. “Better?”

Andrew yawns dazedly. “Yeah, actually.” His blue eyes widen in surprise and his face splits into a grin. “Holy shit.”

Steven smiles somewhat bashfully. “I’m glad.”

Andrew beams at him, and the ache in Steven’s chest settles. “Wanna go grab dinner? We don’t have to be at the bakery until like, nine, right?”

Adam nods and starts to slide off the bed, leaving the equipment behind. “I saw a place up the road that looked good.”

Andrew stands and holds out a hand to Steven. “C’mon, I totally owe you for that.”

Steven accepts the helping hand up but shakes his head. “It was nothing,” he insists.

Andrew shakes his head. “That headache has been killing me all day, it wasn’t nothing.” He turns away from Steven to grab his jacket and get his socks and shoes on. The conversation, sans Steven, devolves into Adam and Andrew bickering about the merits of going to a doctor for their rash of headaches, versus Steven’s magical hands.

Steven watches it unfold distantly, getting his shoes on without really thinking about it. Andrew is smiling and happy, and Adam keeps shooting kind but smug looks in Steven’s direction. The ache in his chest no longer claws at him, because there’s nothing to fix in this moment.

And yet, Steven feels a looming sense of dread. Like something irreversible has been changed.

He swallows the sensation and catches up to his friends just as they’re starting toward the hotel room door.

“So, Andrew, you’re buying then?” Steven asks.

Andrew doesn’t even playfully deny it. “This is better than I’ve felt in like, a day and a half. It’s on me.” He punches at Steven’s shoulder. “Anything you want.”

Steven’s neck burns. “‘Kay,” he says, quiet enough that neither of his friends hear.

 

 

It becomes a _thing_ from there on out. And it both annoys Steven, but fulfills him, too. It’s annoying, because it kind of feels like he’s reducing his powers—almighty, powerful, terrifying powers—to the equivalent of really good Aleve or Advil. It’s fulfilling, though, because nothing is better that relieving the pained furrow of Andrew’s forehead or helping his jaw unclench when the pain is just too much.

Steven only does it for Adam and Andrew, anyway. Word somehow spreads through the offices, but no one pushes beyond Steven giving them a terse no.

When Andrew asks him why he won’t do it for other people, Steven just shrugs.

“Well, thanks,” Andrew tells him. He slings an arm around Steven’s shoulders. “Makes a guy feel special.”

Steven smiles at him, and barely refrains from saying, _“you are special.”_

 

 

“How’d you learn this, anyway?” Andrew asks with his head still in Steven’s lap. It’d been a long, hot, dry day of filming and despite Steven’s constant reminders to _hydrate, hydrate, hydrate_ , Andrew still ended up dehydrated. Like an idiot. Steven had practically force-fed him water on the way back to their hotel, but was powerless to resist Andrew’s quiet plea.

“Uh, internet. And my mom has always known a thing or two about, like, auras, and stuff.” Steven shrugs. His hands are still gently holding Andrew’s head. He thumbs over the sides of his hair and listens to the contented groan rattling in Andrew’s throat. “It’s kind of bogus, though. I think it’s just, y’know. Psychosomatic.”

Andrew shakes his head. He whines faintly when Steven starts to withdraw his hands, so he leaves them delicately grazing Andrew’s head. “Nah,” Andrew says after a few moments. “I can feel it, if that makes sense. Like, obviously. But I can feel the change. And you always seem to know when it’s worked, so.”

Steven bites his tongue in his mouth. “Uh, lucky guess.”

“Secret talent,” Andrew counters. He pushes lazily into Steven’s hand, like a cat nuzzling for attention. It’s endearing and sweet and Steven realizes his control is firmly out of hand.

He can’t take his hands back without drawing attention to himself, so he focuses on cutting the flow of his emotions to Andrew’s. Without closing his eyes, it’s easier said than done. Visualizing things has always been what helped him most, and now he has to do it blind.

Andrew squints up at him lightly for a moment before shivering. “Oof, that was weird. You feel that chill?”

Steven shakes his head.

Andrew sits up slowly. “Ugh, hate that sorta thing.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Thanks again,” he says, half-turning back to Steven. “Dunno what I’d do without you.”

Steven chokes on his response of, “yeah, same.”

 

“I can’t keep doing it,” Steven says to Adam later that night. He’d left Andrew sleeping in their shared room and had tiptoed down the hall to Adam’s room.

Adam stares at him blearily. “What?”

“The, the headache thing. I can’t keep doing it. I’m letting my own emotions bleed into Andrew’s, and that’s so invasive and dangerous, and I’ll never forgive myself if I hurt him or screw up the show, or, or—!”

Adam sticks his head out into the hall before reaching out and yanking Steven into his room. “Okay. Start over. From the top.”

“I was helping with Andrew’s headache once we got back to the room, right? And it was fine and we were talking and he asked how I learned how to do it and I was touching his hair.” Steven pauses precisely long enough to breathe. “And I realized I hadn’t turned off the, the _gate_ basically, from my emotions to his, and he was feeding off what I was feeling, because I’m so stupidly in love with him, and, I just.”

Steven’s eyes are watering and before he realizes it, Adam’s hands are on his shoulders and tugging him into a hug.

“Steven, Steven, it’s okay.” Adam murmurs it against his neck. “Calm down.”

Steven shudders and a few tears slip past his eyelids. They drip onto Adam’s shirt, and he tries to hiccup out an apology.

“This shirt is like, seven years old, it’s fine.” Adam leans back far enough to look Steven in the eyes.

“Still,” Steven whispers.

Adam pushes him over to the bed and forces him to sit. Adam perches beside him and keeps an arm around his shoulders. “It’s okay,” he murmurs. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“But I _did_ ,” Steven insists. The tears start to return full-force. “I’m forcing him to feel things that are mine, and I promised myself I’d never do that, cuz that’s so not cool.” The panic is returning and creeping up his throat and threatening to suffocate him. It’s only Adam’s touch that keeps him remotely grounded, and not for the first time, he’s _so_ grateful for his friend. Steven turns and tucks his face against Adam’s neck and whimpers. “It’s so not cool,” he mutters pathetically.

Adam hums. “You didn’t, though. Andrew trusts you—!”

“That makes it worse!”

Adam hushes him sharply. “Andrew trusts you, and he would never think you did that on purpose. He’ll forgive you.”

“I can’t _tell_ him,” Steven snaps.

“You have to, Steven. It’s not fair to keep it from him.” Adam pushes ever so gently at Steven’s head until their eyes can meet. “He’ll be fine with it, I promise.”

Steven sniffles.

“He will,” Adam says again. “And I think you’re projecting less than you think.”

Steven’s heart stumbles in his chest. “What?”

Adam smiles at him. “You heard me,” he says.

“That can’t—I don’t think— _what_?”

Adam shakes his head, fond. “Talk to him, Steven. You told me people put all the responsibility on you to figure things out in relationships because of your abilities, right?”

“Right.” Steven’s voice is small.

“I think you’ve been doing the same thing to yourself.” Adam’s arm slips from Steven’s shoulders and lands on the bed. He takes Steven’s hand and it’s comforting, soft. It reassures and grounds Steven. “You don’t have to have all the answers because of your powers. Just talk to him. Forget about your powers for a second.

“I promise it’ll be okay.”

Steven swallows nervously, but realizes the tears have dried up. “Okay,” he says. He nods. He believes Adam. Adam’s seldom wrong, and is a very good judge of character. “Okay,” he says, with a little more conviction.

“Great,” Adam says before breaking into a yawn. “Now go to bed, and deal with it in the morning.”

Steven’s gaze flits to the clock on the bedside table.

 _2:03 A.M._ blinks back at him.

“Good plan,” he says before smiling at Adam. “Thank you.”

Adam nods. “Of course.” He nudges at Steven until he stands. “Now go. And I’m sleeping in till ten tomorrow, to give you two time to figure it out. We can get a late start.”

“You’ve earned it,” Steven agrees. He waves at Adam before hurrying out of his room. He slips back into his and Andrew’s room, and breathes a sigh of relief to see Andrew still sleeping. Steven gets into his own bed after kicking off his shoes. His head hits the pillow and he stares at Andrew across the way from him.

He’s asleep in moments.

 

“Steven, _Steven_ , we’re late,” Andrew hisses.

Steven comes to slowly, and is greeted with the sight of Andrew hopping around their room, trying to get into his jeans. His sweater sits waiting on the bed, and he’s not looking at Steven.

“We’re getting a late start today,” Steven echoes Adam’s words from the night prior. “It’s okay.”

Andrew stops hopping and turns to look at him. “Why did no one tell me?” He asks, a tinge of annoyance creeping in on his tone.

“Adam and I decided it at like, two in the morning. I thought it’d be better to let you sleep than wake you up.”

Andrew tilts his head as he considers Steven’s words. “Okay. Fair.” He finally gets his jeans on and falls back onto his bed. He’s still shirtless, and it’s more than a little distracting, until Andrew opens his mouth again. “Why were you and Adam up at two in the morning?”

Steven gulps. “Uh, cuz I had a crisis.”

Andrew sits up rapidly at that. “What?” He asks sharply, eyes darkening.

“Just, like, a minor one. No big deal.”

“It was a big enough deal for you to go to Adam.”

“I knew he’d be awake, probably.”

Andrew’s eyebrows draw together.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

“Steven, of course it does.” Andrew moves closer and hovers near the edge of Steven’s bed.

Steven sits up and shakes his head. “No, it doesn’t. Cuz I figured it all out.”

Andrew hums, disbelieving.

“I did,” Steven insists. “Sit down. We should talk.” He scoots back against the headboard and nods at the space beside his feet. “Cuz my crisis has to do with you. But in a good way.”

Andrew looks extraordinarily wary as he sits, but there’s an edge of amusement to his expression too. He sits slowly, and Steven lets himself get distracted by lightly defined stomach muscles and heavy dustings of chest hair before snapping out of it.

“So, the whole aura thing?”

Andrew nods.

“Total bullshit.” Steven carries on before Andrew can cut in. “I mean, the truth sounds like _bigger_ bullshit, but the aura and chakra and whatever stuff? Total baloney.”

Andrew laughs. He looks like he’s verging on countering with something, but before he can, Steven keeps going.

“I’m an empath.” Steven puts it out there plainly, just as he did with Adam. He watches a myriad of emotions flicker across Andrew’s face, and each of them encroach on Steven’s own. First is surprise, then confusion, then disbelief, then confusion again. “You probably have questions.”

“Uh, yeah, you think?”

“I’m an empath, it means I can sense emotions. And, sometimes, I can control them. Other people’s, I mean.” He flexes his hands where they rest on his lap. “So stuff like the headaches, I can sense your pain, and take it away.”

Andrew’s eyes widen comically larger than Adam’s had. “What.”

“Uh, and when you’re tired _and_ you have a headache, I can take some of the tiredness away. Not all of it, because there’s a certain level of it that’s just, like, natural for people to carry around. But I can help with some of it. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Slowly, understanding dawns over Andrew’s face. “Oh.”

Steven nods. He feels emboldened by even the soft acceptance, and continues speaking. “Part of the problem with my abilities is that, if I’m not careful, I can let my emotions bleed into others. It happens if I’m not concentrating, or I’m too relaxed.”

“Like, if we’re hanging out and it’s late and we’re both tired.”

Steven blushes. “Uh, yeah. Exactly.”

“I thought something seemed different.”

Steven’s heart hammers and sinks in his chest but he forces himself to power on. “I didn’t mean to let me emotions bleed through. I never ever meant to do that, Andrew. You have to know I would never invade your privacy like that, and I would never try to manipulate you, or—?”

“Steven, hold up.”

Steven’s mouth snaps shut with a click.

“I didn’t mean, like, _I’d_ been feeling different. Lately it just felt more like… like you were more open to my, er. Advances. It felt like you were reciprocating, like _we_ were maybe… getting somewhere.”

Steven hiccups around the delighted noise that rises in his throat. “Oh.” He squeaks it out. “That’s—I mean—I guess, I probably was. Cuz, like, if _you’ve_ been feeling that way about me, I was probably feeding off some of your emotions, and then it’s like this loop, and—!”

Andrew kisses him. He cups Steven’s cheek gently and guides him into a firm, close-lipped kiss. Steven sighs against him and loops his arms around Andrew’s neck. They inch minutely closer on the bed, until their knees hit and the bed dips from their combined weight.

They kiss slowly until they’re both short of breath.

“You really have magical powers?”

Steven makes a face. “I wouldn’t call them magical.”

Andrew’s thumb brushes over Steven’s cheek and he kisses the corner of Steven’s mouth. “I dunno,” he drawls. “Feels pretty magical to me.”

Steven lets out a surprised giggle, and kisses Andrew on the mouth in retaliation. They end up toppling onto the bed, rolling around with Steven in his pajamas and Andrew still shirtless; they settle half on the covers, half under. They kiss and touch and laugh together.

“Thank you for telling me,” Andrew says a little bit later, when they’re still in bed together.

Steven nuzzles against him, their noses brushing together and lips grazing by each other. “Of course.”

They lay there a while longer, tangled in each other. They’re still there when Adam slips into their room, ready for the day. He’s stands at the foot of the bed, weighed down with their equipment, and grins at Steven. Andrew’s dozed off slightly, his face still mere inches from Steven’s.

“Told you so,” Adam says.

Steven smiles. “Yeah, you did.”

**Author's Note:**

> title is from ['like to be you' by shawn mendes ft julia michaels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HQ-bC3g-Jw)


End file.
